ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Mosaica Partners describes how states and regions can best leverage the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to advance the quality of healthcare through health information exchange (HIE) in its newly released briefing paper, "Leading Practices: Leveraging the Economic Stimulus Package for Health Information Exchange."
In developing the briefing paper, Mosaica Partners researchers interviewed individuals involved with HIE efforts in more than 30 states to gain insight into their planning activities and approaches related to the HITECH Act, part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). In addition to presenting those findings, the paper describes leading practices identified by the nationally recognized HIE and healthcare informatics consulting firm as the best forward-thinking approaches for leveraging stimulus funds to move the nation toward better-quality, more cost-effective healthcare.
"If appropriately leveraged, the HITECH Act has the very real potential to bring about the tipping point for health information technology adoption and to serve as the catalyst to accelerate HIE efforts," said Laura Kolkman, RN, MS, President, Mosaica Partners. "Our briefing paper explores those activities already underway and provides guidance on the best approaches for leveraging this unprecedented opportunity."
Kolkman, current chair of the HIE Steering Committee of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), presented portions of the research at the HIMSS 2009 annual conference in Chicago. The response to that presentation, which was featured as part of the conference's special focus on the impact of health IT in economic stimulus, led to an expansion of the research and release of the briefing paper on the subject.
The briefing paper highlights activities occurring in eight states and describes what Mosaica Partners considers to be leading approaches for leveraging stimulus funds. These approaches incorporate proactive forward-thinking and collaboration, and typically build upon past experiences.
"We have purposefully avoided referring to these approaches as 'best practices' because, just as there is rarely a single right answer to a problem, there is no one best approach to leveraging stimulus funding across all 50 states. However, each of the leading practices we highlight demonstrates a rational, proactive approach with a high potential for success in their particular environment," said Kolkman.
The paper also presents a set of high-level recommendations which Mosaica believes are important for states and regions to consider as they formulate plans for accessing and using funds available under the HITECH Act. Finally, it incorporates a listing of online resources on ARRA and HITECH, and associated efforts around the country.
Individuals and organizations can obtain a free copy of "Leading Practices: Leveraging the Economic Stimulus Package for Health Information Exchange" at www.mosaicapartners.com/bpstimulus01e.html.
About Mosaica Partners
Based in St. Petersburg, Fla., Mosaica Partners (www.mosaicapartners.com) is a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in Health Information Exchange (HIE) Business Planning, Development and Process Optimization. Mosaica provides its services to states, regions, public and private companies and other organizations with interests in health information exchange and healthcare informatics. In addition, Mosaica provides Vendor Advisory Services to hardware and software firms considering entry into the health information exchange or health informatics arenas.
|SOURCE Mosaica Partners|
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